Method of making building material



Sept. 27, 1938. N. P. HARSHBERGER ET AL 2,131,044

METHOD OF MAKING BUILDING MATERIAL Original Filed June l2, 1933 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 27, 1938 f UNITED STATES 2,131,044 METHOD OF-MKING BUILDING MATERIAL Norman P. Harshberger, Scarsdale, and Sidney A. Ochs, New York, N. Y., assignors to Bakelite Building Products Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application June 12, 1933, Serial No.

675,454. Divided and this application May 13, 1936, Serial No. 79,427

9 Claims.

This invention relates to processes of making material having spring-bow characteristics and particularly to cement coated strips and roll roofing and the like of such character, and to processes of making, ornamenting and curing such material in roll form ready for use, and is a division of our copending application Ser. No. 675,- 454, iiled June 12, 1933.

The usual roll roong has taken the form of a base or web of wool felt, paper or other porous or brous material impregnated with a waterproong compound or material such as a low melting point asphalt and having an additional coating of a bituminous material applied thereto. Mineral particles as, for instance, crushed slate, mica, etc., are applied over the bituminous layer to give the material a more weather resistant surface and to prevent sticking of the coating to the back of the sheet when rolled. The thickness of this material has been such that the finished article has sufficient pliability tol be rolled but the material has been subject to wrinkling and tearing when laid on the roof, especially during warm periods when it becomes very limp and raglike. Unless fastened at both edges with the fasteners applied close together, it is easy for this material to lift in the wind and permit rain or hail to reach the under surface of the roof. Alsoit has been a common occurrence for nails and caps to out through the sheet when applied. In some vcases paint has been applied over the mineral surface to form designs or to give colors not possible with natural or dyed minerals, but this additional coating has contributed nothing that would improve the product from a weather resistant standpoint, nor has it been of a durable nature.

In addition to the above, after laying a roof with the material of thercharacter described, a thick layer of concrete has been applied over the roof to form a monolithic structure. Such a roof has never been satisfactory. Some of the resultant deficiencies have been cracking, due to expansion and contraction, eforescence due tol the presence of free lime, breaking off of piecesy of the concrete due to poor contact with the base structure or due to the forces caused by the expansion of water in the cracks of the cement coating in freezing to ice.

So far as we are aware no cementitious material of the type herein contemplated has been applied yas a slurry on base roofing materials during manufacture and supplied in the form of rolls. l

It is therefore the general object of this invention to provide processes of making roll rooting and the likeof the character described, with a surfacing properly anchored to its base, that will wear substantialy uniformly over its entire surface upon exposure and present a better and more serviceable product.

More specifically the objects of our invention 4may be enumerated as the provision of- A process of making roll rooiing and the like having a flexible base and a hardened cement coating;

A process of making roll roofing and the like having a wholly flexible base and a rigidifying coating but in which the resulting material retains pliable characteristics;

A process of making roofing material and the like possessing a textured surface and of pleasing character;

A process of making roll rooiing and the like in which coating material employed as a surfacing is anchored to a base by means possessing irregular craggy formations and pit-like crevices and in which a chemical reaction is obtained between the coating and said means to form a solid mass;

A process of forming building material having rigid structural characteristics wherein coated base material is fabricated into tubular form before the coating is set and the coating material is permitted to harden in the formed shape;

A process and method of making and curing prepared roofing and the like with a hardened cement coating so that it may be marketed in rolls ready to lay;

A process of ornamenting roll rooiing and the like with a cement coating by pre-wetting predetermined areas of the base material and thereafter applying a dry pulverulent cement to the wetted areas to kform permanent designs;

A process of making roll roofing and the like comprising coating a web of material with a hydraulic cement, winding the web into rolls before the coating has fully set and permitting the coating to harden and curl in the roll;

A process of making roll roong strips and the like wherein said strips retain a slightly curved surface formation due to the hardening of its surface coating of cement while rolled and which coating may be stressed in laying the strips over flat surfaces by the attendant compression of the coating in flattening the strips;

A process of making shaped building units wherein coated material is unwound from a roll and cut into units each retaining shaping received in the roll.

A process of making shaped building material wherein a coated base is wound into roll form and wherein the coating thickness and roll size are regulated such that the material may be unwound when the coating has hardened.

A process of making strips having straight or serrated exposed edges, which edges will hug the understructure, when laid, due to the attendant compression of a set coating applied to the strips in application;

These and other objects and features of the invention relating to the improved roofing material and the like and the processes of making same will in part be obvious, and in part be pointed out in the subsequent Idetailed description and in the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the roll roofing showing its construction and with the web rolled with the coating on the outside of the layers;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing a. form of ornamentation made possible by the use of applicantsl process;

Fig. 2-A is a view of the tapered core;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of a portion of a web showing the textured surface when a thin coating of cement is applied;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-section of a portion of a web with the cement coating wholly above the mineral surfacing;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section showing a combination of the features of Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 6 shows a construction similar to Fig. 4 but having a further surfacing;

Fig. 7 shows a sectional view of the coated material illustrating its greater pliability When its surface coating is flexed under tension than under compression;

Fig. 8 shows a portion of a roof laid with applicants material having a serrated edge, indicating the nailing.

In carrying out our invention we use a flexible composition base 2. This may be the usual felted material made from vegetable fibres, wool, asbestos or hair, alone, in combination, or with other materials and provided in the form of a continuous sheet or web which may in the following operations be at any time moving or stationary. The base is saturated with a waterproofing substance, for instance, a low melting point asphalt and thereafter coated in the usual Way with an additional adhesive coating 4, as, for instance, a high melting point bituminous material or one of a resinous type. To this lcoating before it has set, is applied and partially embedded, a suitable material 6 to form a roughened surface. This may be a coating of mineral particles, for instance, crushed brick, gravel, crushed slag, pebbles, crushed slate, coke, crushed glass or granulated petrified materials.

It is desirable in order to aid in the prevent of blistering in the finished article, after it has been applied on a roo-f, to have the felt thoroughly dry before saturating and to have any moisture removed from the mineral particles before they are applied to the bituminous coating.

The mineral particles we have found desirv able for use in this invention in order to present a surface structurally adapted for the application of the cement coating, are those of a high porosity, possessive of considerable inherent physical strength, and particularly those of a type whose chemical composition makes them capable of combining with the cementitious substance to form a unified mass, as, for instance, mineral particles formed from certain mineral slags.

The slags which we use have a composition similar to cement and react with water in a similar manner to cement, that is, the alumina and silica minerals of the slag react with water to form hydrated aluminates and silicates. Further, when the cement coating is applied, this type of slag reacts more vigorously with water in the presence of the free lime which may be liberated from the cement, than it will with other material. We prefer to use slags having ingredients, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, and iron oxide 0f less than sixty per cent (better less than fifty per cent) by weight of their composition and preferably between thirty and seventy per cent in their calcium oxide and magnesium oxide content and/or slags having an aluminum oxide to silicon oxide ratio of no less than one third by Weight.

The mineral particles because of their toothlike projections of irregular contour and their irregular cavities obtain an excellent grip on the base when they are applied to the adhesive layer and in turn hold the cement coating 8 firmly in place. In both instances the cement and adhesive materials are of a character that will enter the pores of the mineral particles.

The cementitious material we use 'may be any plasters, limes or magnesia, or it Amay be a hydraulic cement, for instance, high alumina cements or Ciment Fondu, as Lumnite, ordinary Portland cements as Lehigh and Medusa, high early strength Portland cements as Incor, magnesium cements as magnesium oxychloride, white cements as White Portland, Medusa or Ferrocrete or slag cements. Further, special cements as Keen cements or ore cement (Erz Zement) may also be used. It is preferred however to use a hydraulic cement.

Such material may be applied forcibly or otherwise over the mineral coated web as a coating in any suitable manner, as for instance, by spraying, by calendar rolls, by printing rolls or dipping. The coating may be a natural colored cement, colored cement, a cement mixed with colored pigments or it may be any of these mixed as an aggregate with other materials, for nstance, clay, diatomaceous earth, hair, asbestos, libres or marble dust. Also, it may be desired to use a waterproof cement or a cement with a resinous addition, for instance, a resinous varnish or emulsion in the proper portions toI waterproof it.

The web or sheet with its cementitious coating thereon is, preferably before the coating has taken its initial set, formed into rolls I with the coating 8 preferably on the outer side of each convolution of the roll, for hardening and curing.

In order to prevent sticking of the coating to the back of the web when rolled, a waxy addition may be included in the original saturant or a waxy material in an emulsified state or otherwise may 'be applied to the back of the web at some point in the process. This step may be obviated by the addition to the cement coating, of, for instance, a synthetic resin as Bakelite or a resin as Vinylite that will rise to the surface of the cement coating before it has set or the mineral particles employed may project above the coating and/or additional particles such as mica or talc may be applied to the front or back of the web. A further preventive contemplates including in the web as it is rolled up a flexible separator having a waxy or other non-adherent surface.

In theprocess above described we have found it desirable in some instances to treat the surface of the coating with carbon dioxide in a` gaseous state or in solution or to add a material generating carbon dioxide to the coating material to prevent eiilorescence taking place in the coating after it has set. The material may, however, be treated after it has been formed into sheets or rolls in a suitable carbon dioxide chamber.

It is to be understood that the cement coating may be applied continuously as a step in the continuous manufacture of the roofing web or may be applied to the sheets or rolls of roofing material at any time after the latter have been fabricated. In the latter instance if rolled roong is employed the web is unrolled, the coating applied and thereafter the process already described continued.

The mineral coated base material with the cement coating thus applied and formed into rolls will, when the coating has fully set and hardened, produce a material having a greater resistance to flexure when the forces applied to bend it are in the direction of the arrow I2, Fig. 7, than when in the direction indicated by the arrow I4. Also due to the coating being on the outer side of the convolutions of the roll and in an unhardened condition when wound, when the roll is unwound on the roof, it will, in contrast to the ordinary asphalt roll roofing sheet, have a permanent curve with the coating at the outer side of the curve. The amount of curvature retained in the sheet when the roll is unwound will be dependent upon the diameter of the roll and will also be somewhat affected by the thickness of the cement coating. It is preferred to use a combination that will not produce too much curvature. When the sheets of roll material are laid on the roof the fasteners will, in flattening out the sheet, put the cement coating under compression. The stressing of the coating will create forces tending to make the sheet and its edges hug the roof deck more securely, thus avoiding rain leakage and further, the cement coating will resist any wrinkling of the sheet and curling at the edges due to the action of the weather, as would happen with the ordinary roll roofing. While a at cement coated member would have extremely high resistance to curling at its edges, the resistance in this instance would be increased by the amount of the stressing of the coating.

If desired, when the rolls are wound a separate suitable form or core I may be provided and said core may be perfectly cylindrical in shape, and/or it may have a slight curved surface with the greatest diameter at the center and/or it may have any shape desired so as to transmit its effect to the sheet when the cement coating has set and hardened and/or the machine spindle upon which the web is wound may have such shapes and be provided with proper means for removing the wound roll therefrom. By such methods rolls or roofing may be made in which the unwound web will have a culrve extending as in Fig. 1 in the direction of the length of the web or as in Fig. 2 the web may have a flare I6 produced by curves running in the direction of the length and breadth of the web. It will of course be understood that the material so unwound may be cut into suitable lengths and shapes as desired and such operations may occur at the factory or at the job. Each section so out will have one or more curves depending upon the form of the material.

As shown in Fig. 2, it is also contemplated in the process herein described, Where the cement coating has been applied, to preornament the web in any fashion desired and also by proper control in curing and proper use of the materials to obtain a large number of varied effects on the finished web. In Fig` 2 the web has been coated with contrasting mixtures to produce a wavy design running longitudinally of the sheet. A particular method of forming designs on the web comprises wetting the mineral particles in certain portions of the roofing web before applying the cement coating and thereafter applying a dry coating material to the web. By wetting the mineral particles in desired areas numerous texture and design effects will result after the step of applying the cement coating by dusting the latter onto the wetted portions of the sheet. The surplus pulverized cement may be removed from the relatively dry regions after the dusting operation by suitable means, for instance, an air blast. By applying the water in the proper manner so as to obtain an irregular flow between the mineral particles, ragged gures may be obtained when the cement has been applied. When it is desired to definitely control the outline of said figures a non-absorbent material, for instance, a waxy substance, an asphalt or resin may be applied to the areas to be free of the cement coating. Further, the areas to be coated may be wetted by means of a printing roll in the form of a wet pad having the desired design.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of the coated material in the preferred form in which a thin cement coating is over the mineral coated web, and partially fills the interstices between the mineral particles, and in which the texture of the mineral surfacing is preserved. Such a web makes an attractive roofing and is easily handled and laid by the roofer.

Fig. 4 shows a cross section where the coating is wholly above the particles. Such a coated web, may, if desired, be passed between suitable rollers before winding into rolls to produce depressions in the coating to form designs, or it may, as in Fig. 6, have an additional layer of mineral particles i8 contrasting in color with the cement surfacing, embedded in desired areas for further ornamentation and to prevent sticking in the roll when the web is wound.

In Fig. 5 a cross section of the web is shown in which the mineral coated web is covered by the cement coating and in which the thickness of the coating gradually decreases to disclose more and more of the texture of the mineral particles. This coating may readily be applied by spraying or by rolling between non-parallel rollers.

Fig. 8 illustrates one of the advantages of our coated material. The gure shows a section of a roofing surface laid with roofing having a diamond point serrated edge. With the ordinary roll roofing and serrated strip material it would be necessary for the roofer to fasten the sheet down not only as shown in the figure but also along the straight or tabbed lower edge to prevent lifting of that edge in the wind. The application of nails at the latter point is undesirable as leaks can easily occur. With our roll roofing or strip material, because of the type of coating provided which permits large exposures to be made without fastening and the compression set up in the coating by the fasteners attoning out the sheet in laying, it is only necessary to apply nails in position where they will be fully covered by the next overlying sheet. Also the weight of the next overlying strip will aid the nails on the under sheet in keeping the coating in compression.

In Fig. 1 the web has been shown with a narrow edge band 20 from which the coating has been omitted. 'I'he mineral surfacing indicated may be finer than that used as a bond for the cement coating. Such a band makes a suitable lap joint on the roof and further is desirable especially on flat roofs where it may be desired to seal the joint with an additional adhesive.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have produced a roofing material that is Simple to manufacture, that is easy to apply to a building surface and that will produce a much better roof than has been provided by the materials of the prior art. 'I'he term roofing and similar expressions as used throughout the specification and claims are employed in a generic sense and are also intended to cover such applications as for walls, siding and. the like. The details that have been given are for the purpose of illustration, not restriction. It will be obvious that various modifications may be made in the material selected and structures formed, as Well as in the ornamentation, form of rolling and in the process, without departing from the spirit of our invention which we desire to construe as broadly as the following claims taken in conjunction with the prior art may allow.

We claim:

l. A method of making shaped sheet material having spring bow characteristics comprising providing a base of flexible material, applying to said base a layer of hardenable coating composition to provide spring characteristics for the material, forming said base into tubular shape with the coated side upon the outer side of the base as thus formed, curing the coated material to a hardened state and dividing the coated base into units, each of said units having a bowed section normally retained by the hardened coating and having spring characteristics when stressed to reduce the bowed section.

2. A method of making Sheet-like building material, comprising providing a flexible backing sheet, coating a face of said backing sheet with a hardenable coating material and to a suhicient extent to produce a hardened coating toi all intents substantially rigid but that will allow a degree of flexibility of the coated sheet, winding a plurality of turns of said coated sheet about a mandrel while the coating is still unhardened, preventing bond of the coating of one convolution with the backing of an adjacent convolution while wound, and hardening said coating while the sheet is wound.

3. A method of making sheet-like building material, comprising providing a flexible backing sheet, coating a face of said backing sheet with a hardenable coating material and to a sufficient extent to produce a hardened coating to all intents substantially rigid but that will allow a degree of flexibility of the coated sheet, winding a plurality of turns of said coated sheet about a mandrel while the coating is still unhardened, and winding said sheet with the coated face outward, preventing bond of the coating of one convolution with the backing of an adjacent convolution while wound, and hardening said coating while the sheet is wound.

4. A method of making cement coated roll roofing adapted to be unwound without substantial fracture thereof, comprising providing a flexible backing sheet, coating said backing sheet with a hardenabl-e material comprising hydraulic cement to produce when hardened a sheet having substantially rigid characteristics, but that will allow a degree of flexibility to permit unwinding of the coated sheet, winding the coated sheet into a roll while the cement is plastic and with the coated face outward and hardening the cement K coating while in the roll.

5. A method of making sheet-like building material, comprising providing a flexible base web, applying to said web a rigidifying coating ccmprising hydraulic cement and to a sufcient extent to produce when hardened a coated web to all extents substantially rigid but that will allow a degree of flexibility Without rupture, winding a plurality of turns of said coated web into a roll while the cement is plastic and substantially preventing bond of adjacent turns in the roll, curing the cement coating in the roll to a hardened condition and subsequently unwinding said coated material. y

6. A method of making sheet-like building material, comprising providing a flexible backing sheet, coating a face of said backing .sheet with a layer comprising ahardenable coating material and granular particles, said coating material being applied to a suflicient extent to produce when hardened, a coated sheet to all intents substantially rigid but that will allow a degree of ilexibility, and said granular particles having portions projecting beyond the coating, winding a plurality of turns of said coated sheet about a mandrel while the coating is plastic and with the granular particles substantially preventing bond between adjacent turns, winding with the coated face outward, and hardening said coating while the sheet is wound.

7. A method of making cement coated roofing and siding having a bow shape, comprising providing a granule surfaced bitumen coated base, applying a rigidifying coating layer comprising hydraulic cement over the granule surfacing and to a sufcient extent to produce when hardened, a coated web to all intents substantially rigid but that will allow a degree of exibility without rupture, winding a plurality of turns of said coated material into a roll of greatest section between the ends thereof, while the cement is plastic and withthe coated side outward, and substantially preventing bond of adjacent turns in the roll, curing the cement coating in the roll to a hardened condition and subsequently unwinding said coated material, said unwound material retaining a bow shaping received while rolled.

8. The method as claimed in claim '7, wherein the material is wound on a tapered mandrel to produce a roll having its greatest section between the ends thereof.

9. A method of making sheet-like roofing material, comprising providing a flexible backing sheet, coating said sheet with a water-resistant substance, and bonding thereto a surface roughening material capable of anchoring a hydraulic cement coating, coating said surfaced sheet with a hardenable coating comprising a hydraulic cement composition of such thickness to produce, when hardened, a sheet having substantial rigid characteristics, but possessing a substantial degree of exibility, winding the coated sheetA into a roll while the cement composition is plastic and with the coated face outward, and hardening the cement composition while in the roll, whereby a sheet is produced which will allow said sheet to be unwound from said roll into a substantially flat sheet.

NORMAN P. HARSHBERGER. SIDNEY A. OCHS. 

